Key Spectrum Updates Affecting Your Networks
Author: Mike Inverso, Director of Sales at KP Performance Antennas
The wireless industry is currently engaged in several discussions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding rule changes for various frequencies.
Here is a breakdown of where we stand with some of the most pressing issues:
3.5 GHz
The FCC has been working closely with WISPA to reach a compromise about the future of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), which will enable shared wireless broadband in the 3550-3700 MHz (3.5 GHz) band.
The CBRS was designed to grant simultaneous, interference-free spectrum access for government and commercial organizations. As we explained in May, the band will soon be made publicly available, but will be tightly regulated. To access the band, organizations will require a Spectrum Access System (SAS) as well as an Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) network.
Through the SAS, the FCC will distribute spectrum across three tiers. The industry, however, is mired in an ongoing debate about the fairest way to distribute Tier II Priority Access Licenses (PALs), which will provide interference-free access in designated territories. There is widespread concern about the amount of geographic area that would be covered in a PAL, as well as their duration.
Now, after a long summer of waiting, the final rules for the CBRS spectrum appear to be nearing completion. At the Mobile World Congress Americas event in September, FCC Office of Engineering and Technology chief Julie Knapp, informed attendees that the FCC is working to finalize the rules that will govern the use of the band.
“There’s really tremendous progress in 3.5,” Knapp said. “I’m somewhat encouraged. I think we’ll be seeing things moving really soon.”
According to Knapp, spectrum access administrators have submitted their initial deployment plans to the FCC for approval. And as Law360 reports, the FCC is also considering sharing the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz band, which could help power 5G deployments.
At this point, it’s just a matter of waiting for the FCC to make its final announcement about the upcoming changes.
2.5 GHz
The FCC is being petitioned by multiple groups to reduce restrictions in the 2.5 GHz band, which was initially established for the transmission of educational materials.
In a letter to the FCC, Lerman Senter PLLC — on behalf of WISPA — recently stated that the time has come for the FCC to “discard outdated rules and policies, and to inject new life into the 2.5 GHz band, creating opportunities for investment, deployment, and competition, especially in rural areas where Education Broadband Service (‘EBS’) spectrum has lain fallow for more than 20 years.”
WISPA, the letter states, along with a host of other commenters, is urging the FCC to increase flexibility and make the 2.5 GHz band viable for fixed wireless service.
WISPA supports the county-based expansion of Geographic Service Areas (GSAs) to enable competitive bidding for unassigned EBS spectrum. The group is also pushing to eliminate restrictions on the assignability and transferability of EBS licenses, educational use requirements and the current 30-year maximum term for excess capacity leases.
A fight appears to be brewing between the educational community and the wireless industry which has the support of large carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as several Native American tribes who are claiming that opening the 2.5 GHz band would improve internet access to some Native American communities. Both the National Congress of American Indians and the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians are petitioning the FCC on this matter.
There is also concern, however, within the greater Native community that granting large carriers access to the 2.5 GHz band could do more harm than good. From the Chickasaw’s perspective, for instance, an EBS auction would put more power into the hands of large carriers without guaranteeing they would provide improved service to their land. They also argue that the decision would negatively impact educational institutions.
4.9 GHz
Back in 2002, the FCC set aside the 4940-4990 MHz (4.9 GHz) band, or T-Band, for fixed and mobile public safety broadband usage. The band has been largely underutilized, though, and now the FCC is considering acting to open the spectrum for commercial purposes.
In March, commissioners voted to investigate alternative uses for the band. Following that announcement, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began drafting a bill to open the 4.9 GHz spectrum for auction while still allowing public safety agencies to use a portion of the channel.
As of right now, the proposal would call for auctioning off 50 MHz of the 4.9 GHz spectrum.
“We were surprised,” stated Ralph Haller, chairman of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) governing board stated. “We had no indication ahead of time that anything like this was in the works. We knew that there was interest in preserving the T-Band, but the 4.9 [GHz] thing was completely unexpected.”
5 GHz - 6 GHz
The FCC originally set aside 75 MHz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC). Congress, however, has asked the FCC to allocate 100 MHz of spectrum below 8 GHz for unlicensed usage in order to enable greater WiFi expansion — and the 5.9 GHz band is directly in the crosshairs.
As of right now, the FCC is in the process of analyzing tests to determine whether WiFi and DSRC communication can coexist in the same spectrum. We expect to know more when the tests are released.
The FCC is also exploring ways to utilize the 6 GHz band, as it can easily accommodate WiFi and is not tethered to DSRC.